How I Understand and Interpret Revelation – Final Installment

In my previous three articles on Revelation (here, here, and here), I’ve explained how I interpret this book of the Bible.  In this article I will wrap things up.

Keep in mind that I am not a Bible scholar.  The views I offer here are my own.  They may be a good interpretation or they may be way off the mark.

The balance of Revelation following the mass conversion of the Aztecs (from my last article) is primarily the struggle between the woman and Lucifer, the two main protagonists of the second half of Revelation. I think Jesus wanted the mass conversion of many nations. After all, what He is offering is His own church proclaiming His teachings, and guided by the Holy Spirit to keep it from error.

This far into Revelation the two protagonists are Lucifer and the woman whose Son predicts that she will crush his head. But there is a lot going in Revelation.

I picked up from Revelations that the world is developing, and that there are three main campaigns of Lucifer to destroy the success Jesus might have with the church He established.

The first campaign is the rupture of the Church during the Reformation. The Church has never been the same since it occurred. No matter what the Church preaches, some separated sect contradicts it.

The second campaign is Communism. If the problem of communism had not been partially checked, the scourge of Communism could probably have destroyed the whole church.

The third campaign is Evolution.

Theory of Evolution

Charles Darwin formulated his theory of Evolution in 1859. In 1830, the mother of Jesus approached Catherine Labouré  and gave her a mission: “Have a medal struck upon this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck.” Medals were made in 1832 and were distributed in Paris. Almost immediately the blessings that Mary had promised began to shower down on those who wore her Medal. The devotion spread like wildfire.

The theory of Evolution is, I think, Lucifer’s third Campaign to destroy what Jesus is doing. If people believe that life just sprang up randomly, then there is no need for a creator. Evolution has already been called ” The great religion destroyer.” Although bonified scientists don’t necessarily believe this, the media offers evolution as an alternative to creation and are very hostile in rebuking religion.

But even throughout these campaigns there have been other signs that the end may be near.

Globalization

The current brave new world that men are now trying to formulate is globalization.  The ideas that finally matured into the concept of globalization had their beginnings following WWII.

The United States emerged from the war as the single most powerful nation on the globe.  The United States had only 6.3% of the world population but wielded most of the economic and military power in the world.  Through the years, the emphasis on globalization has changed, but at its core, it means viewing the globe and the people on it as a whole.

Today, if I can put it simply, the emphasis is in uniting all mankind into a global family ruled by a one-world government. This new world has no borders, does business in a one-world market, and believes in a one-world religion.  Globalists think this is a way of uniting all people into a world that does not favor one group over others and in which all people can find security and safety from sectarian divisions.

Revelation 13: The number 666

The number 666 has always been a mystery to people interpreting Revelation.  It can refer to Rome or Nero.  I also interpreted it that way initially.  My first interpretation was Preterist, so it made sense to interpret it that way.  And in Futurist interpretations, no one came up with a good interpretation for the end times.

But then I read someone’s interpretation pointing out that the Hebrew letter ז (waw) has a numerical value of 6, and the letter is equivalent to the Roman letter w.  And www identifies the World Wide Web.  In Hebrew that could be זזז.  Interesting!  I never realized that.

The sign of the Antichrist could easily be זזז. The Internet, because it is so prevalent in today’s communication and contains information about almost everything known to man, is undisciplined.  It contains truth as well as falsehood.  It would be an easy tool for Lucifer to deceive those who surf The Internet.  I have been surfing The Internet for many years, and I have seen the incredible contradiction of just about everything on The Internet.

The mark of the beast that people will wear on their hand could well be the ubiquitous hand-held smart phones that many people carry with them daily.  There are about 6 billion owners of smart phones today.  Since the introduction of WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) technology in 1999, mobile phone users have been able to access The Internet directly through their handset phones.

The Vision of Pope Leo XIII

In 1884, Pope Leo XIII had a vision of God chatting with Lucifer.  God apparently gave the devil 100 years to try to destroy the Church.

Pope Leo XIII was very concerned about this apparition.  Worried about the next 100 years, He composed the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel and ordered it be prayed every morning after celebrating Low Mass.  The mandate was dropped in 1968, but it is still prayed voluntarily in many churches today.

Father Gobbi

Another recent prophecy dating the end of the world was given by the Virgin Mary to Fr. Stefano Gobbi starting in 1972.  I am familiar with Fr. Gobbi.  I saw him twice in Cleveland during two of his public meetings.  And I am also a lay member of his Marian Movement of Priests.  His dating of the end times resonates more vividly with me because I am convinced that he is really being used by the Virgin Mary.

Fr. Gobbi travelled all over the world and gave talks about what he heard from the frequent interior locutions he received from the Virgin Mary.  Each of his talks at various locations are numbered in the books he supplied to members. The 18th book is the last edition published, as the locutions ended at that time.

Fr. Gobbi died on June 29, 2011, but he left behind a large and effective movement of priests and laity faithful to the Church Jesus founded upon the Apostles.  I received these editions frequently as the talks increased.  I still have my copy of the 18th edition.

It was obvious to me reading these books that we are in the last times.  The Virgin Mary was requesting priests and others to be faithful to what Jesus is doing with his Church to combat the rebellion of Lucifer and the angels that sided with him.

Our Lady’s Message to Fr. Stefano Gobbi on the Signs of the Coming of the Lord is pretty clear that we are in the end times.

Revelation 19: The Rider on the White Horse

I don’t think there is any doubt that the rider on the white horse is Jesus Christ during his final conquest of Lucifer, the arch enemy of God, and those humans who have chosen allegiance with Lucifer and make war on Jesus Christ and all that His Father wants him to accomplish.  But, I think, Jesus is also showing compassion to those opposed to Him and He is not anxious to come too soon.  He will wait as long as he can, hoping for last minute converts.  After all, he is God.  Nothing can stand against Him if He goes on the warpath.

I think He has been sending the Virgin Mary, not as a warrior but as a mother, who is weeping because of the infidelity of her children against God.  She is all mercy and compassion as she weeps because of how her children defy and ignore God.  If her pleas find no effect after 187 years (starting from 1830 to Zoe Catherine Labouré) perhaps that will be the time for her Son to mount His white horse and end this rebellion by Lucifer.,

Conclusion

In any case, most of the prophecies predicting the end of the world seem to me to point to the present era.  I think it will happen soon, sooner than most people think.

It also seems to me that God is offering His final appeal for salvation: just throw yourself on His Divine Mercy and ask forgiveness (Divine Mercy).  Choose His influence: reject the influence of the world and of Lucifer who motivates the world’s hostility against fidelity to God, and you will find salvation.  God will forgive you and restore you to the pristine human nature you would have had if no rebellion against God had ever existed.